Dripping blood

A month flew by quickly at the academy, and as scheduled, the student rankings were updated based on their performance. As expected, the top positions remained unchanged, while the lower rankings saw significant shifts. 

Some students had climbed several spots, while others had dropped. Unfortunately for Axel, his position remained fixed at the very bottom, but there wasn't much he could do. Despite the noticeable improvements he had made over the month, he was still years behind the others. 

Axel's routine had become extremely consistent. He woke up, ate a high-calorie breakfast, attended morning classes, had another calorie-rich lunch, followed the afternoon lessons, trained individually with Samantha, had a similarly heavy dinner, used every spare moment to stalk Aria, and then went to bed. That was his daily cycle, day after day… though maybe one of those activities wasn't entirely legal. 

"Still nothing," Axel muttered as he reviewed the notes he had taken while studying Aria. 

Despite the time he had spent, nothing had come up to confirm that Aria was the answer he was looking for. He began to wonder if he was following the wrong lead, perhaps influenced by the memories he had of her. 

"Something wrong, Axel?" Nathan asked as he had breakfast next to him. 

"Nothing," Axel replied, switching off the holographic bracelet. 

"Sure, buddy. I must say, though, Samantha's doing a great job. You don't look like a skeleton anymore," Nathan joked. 

Axel's body had become stronger and, while he still hadn't reached normal standards, he was in much better shape than before. 

"Thanks… but you still haven't told me why we're eating here." 

As Axel pointed out, they were having breakfast in a shady corner behind the cafeteria. At first, Axel had intended to sit near Aria like he usually did, only to be dragged away by Nathan to their current spot. 

He could have protested, but he was starting to find it amusing to be carried off like that. 

"Haah, look at my ranking," Nathan sighed. 

[100/1001] 

"Isn't that good?" Axel asked, puzzled. 

"Not at all. Look who's right behind me." 

[Rex Drakon, ranking 101/1001] 

"Do I know him? And didn't you say Rex sounded like a dog's name?" Axel asked, even more confused. 

"...Why do I even try?" Nathan said, rubbing his forehead. "Anyway, even though you'll probably forget, that maniac is going to go berserk for dropping out of the top 100. So he'll probably kill me first for taking his spot, and then come for you." 

Even though Nathan was currently ranked above Rex, it didn't mean he was stronger. Since the rankings were based on the average of both physical and academic performance, those ranked below you weren't necessarily weaker, and Rex was the perfect example of that. 

[Announcement to all students: Please proceed to the auditorium for Principal Marcus's address.] 

"Hm? Now that I think about it, we haven't seen him in person yet," Nathan said out loud. 

"..." 

"You have no idea who he is, do you?" 

"...No." 

Nathan didn't say anything else and just looked up at the sky in resignation. 

As announced, all students headed to the auditorium and sat down in an orderly manner, looking toward the stage where Marcus Steele, the academy principal, stood in person, no longer just a hologram. 

"It's good to see you all again," Marcus began once he made sure everyone was present. 

"It's been a month since your arrival at the academy, and in this short time, I've been able to observe your progress. Many of you have shown remarkable improvement, but you must continue to give your best. With one month gone, you now have eleven left before your transfer to the Inverted World," Marcus explained seriously. 

"However, I didn't call you here just to exchange a few words. I'm here to inform you that your predecessors have returned." 

Marcus's words caused a wave of murmurs to spread among the students. If, on the first day of each year, a group of students became Sinners, then on the last day of the previous year, the earlier group was sent to the other dimension. 

"It has been a month since they were transported, during which they had to live in an extremely hostile and dangerous environment," he said after a deep sigh. 

"Out of 2,500 students, 1,500 have returned." 

The atmosphere turned cold as the numbers were spoken aloud. 

"Of course, we still hope that more will make it out alive, but after the first month, their chances drop, and by the end of the third, we officially declare them dead," he said in a grave tone. 

A heavy silence fell over the room as the students absorbed the news. 

"They were unlucky. Of the many already explored continents, they ended up in a new one with a danger level of 7." 

Many students turned pale at those words, knowing that this could very well be their future. 

Continents were ranked from 1 to 13 in terms of danger, based on factors like the environment and monster strength. A level 7 continent meant it had an extremely hostile environment and monsters ranked as Aberrants. 

As for level 13? That was only symbolic since no one had ever returned from a place like that. 

"Many of them need mental assistance. After all, it's not easy to come back and expect everything that happened there to just disappear. The memories from your first transportation will stay with you forever. Even I still have nightmares from those days." 

Marcus paused, scanning the faces of the students. The silence was suffocating, broken only by the occasional sound of ragged breathing. 

He adjusted his tie and continued. 

"Even so, all of them are now sharing information about this new continent, so that their successors won't suffer the same fate. Be grateful for that," Marcus concluded. 

There was a deep silence of acknowledgment as the students took in the weight of the principal's words. 

"I won't take up any more of your time. Today was just a reminder of what it means to be a Sinner. You're dismissed, and good luck with the monthly class sparring." 

The students slowly got up from their seats. Marcus's words had left a deep sense of anxiety in all of them, pushing them to work harder, if only to survive their first transportation. 

"Great, now I'm more depressed than ever," Nathan sighed, his voice full of frustration. 

"Really? I think it's quite interesting," replied Axel, whose enthusiasm felt completely out of place given the general mood. 

Nathan stared at him, puzzled as if Axel were from another planet. Still, he could never truly understand what Axel felt. 

Having grown up in a small and limited environment, the idea of exploring a mysterious, unknown dimension filled Axel with almost tangible joy and excitement. Even though he knew he wouldn't survive a day in that other world in his current state, Axel had always been drawn to the Inverted World and couldn't wait to enter it convinced it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

"So here you are! Nathan, my man, I didn't see you in the cafeteria today. Where've you been?" shouted Rex, with a smile that radiated an almost predatory determination. 

"Why is it always me..." Nathan muttered, looking up at the sky in exasperation. 

Nathan and Axel turned to find Rex just a few steps away, his grin so wide and intense it looked like he was about to devour them. 

"Rex..." 

"Come on, what kind of reaction is that? Don't tell me that now that you passed me in the rankings you think I'm useless?" 

"Come on, Rex, it's just a ranking. I only moved up because I got a good theory score," Nathan tried to explain, doing his best to stay calm. 

"Sounds like someone's bragging, huh?" Rex threw his arm around the back of Nathan's neck and gave him a hard noogie, smiling in a way that didn't promise anything good. 

The scene began drawing the attention of the other students, and that's when Nathan completely lost his patience. Using all the strength he could muster, he broke free from Rex's grip, holding his burning head and staring at him with visible hatred. 

"You know what? Go fuck yourself!" Nathan exploded, with no hesitation or filter. 

"What did you just say?" Rex stepped forward menacingly, closing the gap between them until only a few centimeters remained, his fury unmistakable. 

Even though Rex towered over him, Nathan was done walking on eggshells every time he was around. 

"You heard me. I've had to put up with your fucking ego for a whole month! You're pissed at me because you know you won't make it back into the top 100, and the other clan members are mocking you for it. I bet the ancestor of the Drakon line is rolling in his grave knowing one of his descendants turned out to be a pathetic piece of shit like you!" Nathan let out all his frustration, his voice echoing down the hallway for everyone to hear. 

"Pftt." 

Someone started laughing, and soon, others joined in, pointing at Rex. 

Rex's face, already twisted with rage, turned into uncontrollable fury as the laughter reached his ears. He summoned a massive greatsword and activated his ability to enlarge it even more, swinging it with murderous intent at Nathan. Nathan managed to summon his shield just in time, but the blow sent him crashing violently into the wall, smashing it to pieces. 

The students watched with wide, shocked eyes. No one expected Rex to be crazy enough to attack with his spirit weapon, especially when no teachers were around. 

"I'LL KILL Y—cough!" 

Rex, who looked like a raging demon, suddenly stopped, coughing up a mouthful of blood. His rage turned to shock as he, along with everyone else, turned to see the cause. Axel's hand was buried deep in Rex's back, right where the lung should be. 

"Looks like I still need more practice; only half the hand made it in," Axel said, his grin growing wider as he yanked his hand back with force. 

Rex coughed up more blood and collapsed to the floor. In the silence that followed, the only sound was the dripping of blood from Axel's clawed fingers, like it was the only sound left in the world.